Explore longtime favorites and brand-new gems with these picks for best local bookstores in Kansas City for kids.
Best for All Ages: Rainy Day Books (Fairway)
Rainy Day Books is Kansas City’s oldest independent bookstore, selling books for almost 50 years. As you would expect with a long running business, the booksellers are highly knowledgeable. As you walk around the store, you’ll find helpful notes and recommendations from the booksellers woven into the displays. The staff is eager to chat with you and help you find the right selection.
Rainy Day Books carries everything from board books to adult novels. You’ll find beautiful editions of classic novels alongside new releases. The children’s section welcomes with a reading chair and plenty of face-out books shelved down low for little hands to reach. Middle-grade and teen novels wrap around the corner as the store transitions to books for adults. Each section is well-curated, and I could tell no age group was an afterthought. Staff was also great at interacting with my 9-year-old daughter. When they noticed that she had selected three graphic novels, they gifted her an “I love graphic novels” pin, which made her day.
Parent bonus: Your receipt gets you 10% off at Front Range Coffeehouse and Provisions located next door.
Best to Make a Day of It: The Lucky Rabbit (North Kansas City)
Go inside children’s literature (literally) with a visit to The Rabbit hOle KC. This immersive museum of children’s literature was created by the owners of the beloved Brookside children’s bookstore, The Reading Reptile. While the Reading Reptile is no more, The Lucky Rabbit is here! The Lucky Rabbit bookstore is a full-service children’s bookstore inside the museum. The store carries a large inventory of books for all ages, ranging from infant to young adult. In addition, the store carries a curated inventory of non-book items including games and toys, cards, bookmarks, and journals created by their print shop.
While visiting the bookstore is the perfect end to a museum trip, you can visit the bookstore without a museum admission. The store is open the same hours as the museum. Events are still getting up and running (the Rabbit hOle opened only six months ago), but in the future, The Lucky Rabbit plans to offer storytimes, baby music times, book clubs, craft workshops, and author events. For more information on visiting the Rabbit hOle, read our Mom’s Guide to the Rabbit hOle KC.
Best for Events: The Pretty Posy Boutique (Downtown Overland Park)
The Pretty Posy Boutique is a relative newcomer to the bookstore scene, opening in Downtown Overland Park earlier this year. The shop carries book and gifts for all ages. The children’s area beckons with face-out picture books, creative stations and cozy book nooks. The owner of The Pretty Posy Boutique is a former elementary school teacher and mother of three young children, so she knows a thing or two about entertaining children.
On Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., the store invites babies and toddlers to explore books with a caregiver. This open house style event is great for mingling with other parents. No story is read but there are books, toys and coloring for you and your child to interact with. Then at 10:45 a.m., the shop holds a preschool/school age story time. Listen to a story or two, browse books, cuddle up in a book nook or make a bookmark.
Mom tip: The events are conveniently scheduled to be paired with a visit to the Overland Park Farmer’s Market.
Best for Reluctant Readers: The Learning Tree (Prairie Village)
The Learning Tree is a locally owned combination toy and bookstore. The owners and staff handpick every item in their stores to meet every age, stage and special need. The store is full of unique, new and inventive toys, art kits and books. And while the store has a dedicated book section, they also incorporate relevant books into the toy displays. The integrated displays allow for an organic way for kids to discover books. Kids who aren’t interested in browsing the full book section can easily find books that pique their interests. For example, while browsing the dinosaur toys, kids will discover nonfiction books about dinosaurs, dino activity books and picture books with dinosaur stories.
Another great display paired a variety of Taylor Swift biographies with a Taylor doll crochet kit, bracelets, disco balls and soundwave lights. As a former librarian, I often found that kids that seemed uninterested in reading, were often just uninterested in novels. They were inspired to read when they were shown nonfiction or DIY books, like the selections in The Learning Tree’s displays.
If you don’t see anything that interests your child, I highly recommend asking the staff. During my visit, they didn’t hesitate to call their book buyer for a specific topic request I had. She pointed me toward a few titles in the store and then emailed me a list of further recommendations!
Best for Gifts: The Toy Store (Lawrence)
The Toy Store is a charming three-story treasure trove of toys and books. Be prepared to lose track of time while browsing; The Toy Store is one of the largest independently owned toy stores in the United States. Like The Learning Tree, every item is handpicked. The toy selection itself is unrivaled and not to be overlooked, but if you make it past the board games, menagerie of stuffed animals, puzzles, Playmobil and Legos, tucked away on the top floor, you’ll find a large and thorough book collection. There are books for babies through teens.
The Toy Store carries the largest selection of children’s how to art and craft books, activity books, journals, travel books and story treasuries/anthologies that I have ever seen in one spot. They even have a whole aisle of pop-up/interactive baby and toddler books! These unique and special titles make the perfect gift. Of course, if you want to pair your book with a toy, they’ve got you covered.
Best Deal: Friends of the Library Bookstore (Olathe)
The best book deals in the metro are hidden inside the Olathe Public Library’s Indian Creek location. Inside the library you’ll find the Friends of the Library Bookstore. The bookstore carries used books for all ages, including board books, beginning readers, picture books, chapter books and audiobooks. There’s also a selection of puzzles and video games.
The best part is that all items are $2 or less! At those prices, kids can easily shop with their allowance. Plus, all the money raised goes back to support the library. Stretch your money even farther at the Friends Book Sales, where all items are $1 or less!
Mom tip: You can donate your gently used books to the Friends of the Library. The shop and book sales run on donations.
